Squatters Hell's Keep | Utah Brewers Cooperative

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Tastes similar to how it smells. Crisp pale malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by good amounts of green apple and grapefruit peel flavors. Midway through the sip mild amounts of spices jump into play - coriander as with the aroma - and are buttressed by grassy hop flavors. The ending is mildly bitter.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with active carbonation.

Drinkability is also good. I finished my glass without a problem and could have another.

Overall I thought this was a solid beer however no one facet really stood out to me. Still, it's worth a shot.

Misty, mustard straw colored with a medium-sized white head which retains and laces well.
The nose brings pears dusted in powdered sugar and cloves, candied lemon peel, and basil-like leafiness.
It brings a sugary, rock-candy sweetness upon touching the teeth. Backings of melon and pear. A touch of caramel, then it dries a bit with wheat toast. Yeast adds clove, banana, and pepper, and just a touch of oxidized, brown-bag deadness. Not a flaw or distraction on it own, but perhaps a suggestion that it not likely to age well. Lemon peel later on, with touches of herbs, as it ends and lingers with sugary white grape vinousness.
Uppity carbonation upfront, giving lift to the moderately full body making it seem much lighter. The bubbles slow over time, but never fade entirely, giving it a bit more girth, but it never feels fat. It's drinkable beyond it's ABV, but it's sip-worthy too.
It may lack a bit in total depth, but it hits mostly all the right notes. If it were priced differently ($16/750mL bottle at the brewpub, $10 in stores), I'd absolutely return. There's a good deal of likeability as well as versitility here.

This will be my third Squatters beer. So far I've enjoyed all of what they've had to offer. Their Hop Rising was delicious, their Outer Darkness wasn't as "stout" as I like my stouts but it was still a good brew, and now I'm having this Hell's Pass. It's good to see the brewery making a variety of beer styles.

I poured this baby into my Duvel glass and oh, does it look delightful. The beer is a crystal clear golden. I don't know if my glass has etching at the bottom of it but there is some serious bubble-age coming from the bottom, like a hot spring. The head forms a bit slowly but gets lovely, white, and foamy. There's some exceptional lacing on my glass, leaving a thin layer of once-head around the glass. A nice thin layer of bubbles remains on top throughout drinking.

I get a triumvirate of smells coming from Hell's Keep. Interestingly, it does not smell of fire, pitch, stone, blood, sweat, excrement, or any other smell I'd associate with a keep that's in Hell. Mostly what I get is Belgian yeast, a white sugary sweetness, and slight lemon citrus. Underlying is a hay-like aroma that adds a sort of saison/barnyard character. Some booziness tingles the nose just a tad but it doesn't intrude.

The taste is much like the smell except the hops and hay maltiness are more pronounced. I'd say the flavors are all balanced here perfectly. It might not be the most tasty beer you'll have (That's a stupid statement, I admit) but they're all good and all well-balanced. Just a bit of bitterness at the beginning with some lemon and some banana as well. Sweet bananas, yes, that's a good description of the sweetness, though the banana isn't very strong. After the hop bitterness and fruity sweetness comes the flavors that linger like the grainy malts, a bit of warming booze, and the white sugary sweetness. It reminds me of a sugar cookie in a way.

Hell's Keep is an overall smooth beer but there's enough carbonation to tingle the tongue at the beginning. It's medium-bodied and very easy to drink.

This is another enjoyable offering from Squatters. I hope to see more from them in the future.

Medium yellow in color
Smells like Belgian malt and spice
Taste is a good balance, often this type of malt can be Overpowering but here it's just enough to have a bite
One of the better beers of the style

Pours a hazy golden color with a tight, frothy head that fades slowly and leaves a solid sheet of lacing on the glass.

Smells of some grassy notes and a little yeast spice.

Tastes of mostly a dry, bready malt character with some yeast additions. There is a good amount of citrus grassy notes as well, but the beer does not have a sharp edge. Very lightly sweet with some hidden apple notes. Yeast adds peppery notes in the middle. Alcohol also sneaks in, but does not detract.

Looked like the cap might be leaking through a thin layer of black wax.. some small bubbles of beer were blowing out.... So I did what any self-respecting BA would do... Immediately chilled it down a bit and cracked it... Poured into my small La Trappe goblet.

Thankfully, the beer was still plenty carbonated .... very carbonated actually, I think some Boise heat and UPS jostling may have just forced up some beer into the neck.

Nose is pretty spicy.. with some apple skin... fairly malty... good aroma across the board.

Flavor is every bit a well made BSPA.. fruity esters reminds of a slightly underripe pear... quite a nice bite of white pepper too... good bitterness.

The body is lite/medium with a bunch of carbonation.

No problems with the cap made it's way into the finished bottle .... the smallest amount of beer actually made it out and in fact my only "real" complaint is I would even like the carbonation notched back a tad more.... Thanks again John.

Edit: Glad John shipped this in a styro shipper.... looks like it probably spent most of the trip upright.

Yeast is quite prominent on the nose, more phenolic than I was expecting. Very clove-y and even some bubblegum. Grain is light as well as the hops, the yeast really drives the aroma on this one.

Malts are light and crackery, Im glad it stays on the dry side of things. Maybe some dust and honeyed hay as it warms. Yeast still plays a major role here, much clove for sure. Hops give it a little bite on the back end. Not bad, not bad...still not as good as a fresh Duvel though and it is pretty pricey at 10 bucks. It just lacks a bit of the crisp, ultra-dry deliciousness Duvel does. Still though, this is one of the better American made BSPAs I have had in quite some time. Good job Squatters! On a side note, Im surprised the label on this flies in Utah, haha.

Appearance: The carbonation really plays a strong role in this beer's appearance . . . almost like poring a glass of champagne! Golden, bubbly, light and crisp looking.

Smell: Got a good amount of fruit notes on this one. Some citrus and very nice spice to it as well.

Taste:Very nice flavor, got some fruits again and definitely good warmth from the alcohol, but nothing overpowering (despite it being quite high in ABV)

Mouthfeel & Drinkability: Love this beer. It's deceptively drinkable despite the high alcohol content. You could easily drink this all night and get yourself into a lot of trouble by the end of the evening. The champagne yeast makes this every palatable and enjoyable.